Before last night’s general session I had gotten word that YS was going to hack some people off…in hopes of creating conversation later on that evening. I was really pumped about the idea of having three different speakers who were going to say, basically, you don’t love the poor, you don’t love the gay community, and your worship is idolatrous. Hack everyone off…and then provide opportunity for discussion at the late night forums.
Well…It was that…and it wasn’t that. But it was good. Really good.
The first guy up was Jarrett Stevens who talked about what happens when the means to the end become the end. He spoke out of his recent experience of shutting down a worship experience at his church because it was becoming the END instead of the means to the end. He was really open and honest. I would have loved to hear more about his story. He did leave me wondering, “How can I get out of the way so God can do his thing.” That provided lots of conversation with Jen and I back in the hotel room.
The second guy up was Andrew Marin who spoke about his foundation and their work with the GLBT community. Really interesting guy. Very honest. I definitely wanted to hear more about his ministry and I’m going to his workshop this morning. I wonder how many times my lack of sensitivity has blocked conversation from happening with students. And while the answer of just doing a once a year talk about GLBT is not the answer, I think there are other issues that the church needs to talk about more as well.
Mr. Marin’s thought was more training about what to do and how to react when gay people come to your church. And that needs to happen. I wonder what other issues need to be addressed as well, such as, the pregnant teen who used to come to youth group. All in all there are lots of issues that need to be open to talk about in the church, especially around the issues of sexuality. And instead of not knowing what to do, we need to start the conversation.
The last guy was Shane Claiborne. I got to hear him speak for the first time last year in
Well, I’m gonna grab some breakfast and head to Sean’s workshop.
And super props to Adam for buying Jen and I dinner last night! He’s the man.
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2 comments:
Shane's originally from Tennessee, and I doubt there's anyone who wouldn't say he's authentic.
as far as shane's authenticity...let me try to clarify, because I wasn't necessarily calling that into question.
Really I was thinking, "Is he that 'folksy' all the time?" I don't know if that makes sense. and if he is, that's great. but whether he is like that all the time or not, to me, doesn't affect(?) his authenticity or message at all. but maybe some would feel that it does. I don't think it's out of the question to wonder if he adds a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.
I hope that clarifies it a bit.
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